The Parts Game

How to understand the "game" of buying Land Rover parts.

As Rovers age, like any vehicle, they will need repairs.  It’s an unfortunate fact of life, but our beloved Rovers will not last forever- at least not without some help.

It seems lately that you can’t swing a stick without hitting yet another Rover parts supplier, they pop up in the strangest places with exciting names and their mission statements about revolutionizing the Land Rover experience… then they fade away just as fast once the dream becomes reality.

Where do all these parts come from and why are prices all over the place?  It’s a tough question with many answers, so let’s dive right in.

Genuine:  This means it’s a Land Rover branded part in a Land Rover box with a Land Rover label. Keep in mind here that Land Rover doesn’t make ANY of these parts; they are all contracted out to manufacturers called Original Equipment Manufacturers. These parts are usually acceptable quality- but don't immediately assume they are the best in each case.

OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturers. These are the companies that make the original parts for Land Rover, but also sell the same parts under their own name.  For example, Quentin Hazel made all the water pumps for Land Rover when they assembled the engines for Defender and Discovery. You can buy that pump from Land Rover in their box or from Quentin Hazel in theirs for about 30% less.

Aftermarket:  These are parts that were never used by the Rover factory, but are made to fit Rover vehicles. An example of this would be DBA (Disc Brakes Australia) brake rotors, which are better than the original OEM and Genuine parts (which were made by Lockheed-Delphi, for the record). Some aftermarket is an improvement over original, but most is not- and some aftermarket parts are pure garbage through which you as a consumer must wade.

House Brands: These can be one of two things- a part made by the company selling it or a way to take a generic non-branded part and try to make it sound legitimate. Some clever house brands are made to appear to be a real brand name- some even lift their common sounding names from other industries to give it a ‘familiar sounding’ name or imply “pro” level parts… except they are generally poor quality.  If the parts can’t stand on their manufacturer’s name alone without their origin obscured, you probably don’t want them. One example is $7 wholesale third world brake rotors being sold for just about the same price as OEM- the fake brand name accounting for the difference. Would you buy them with no name on the package, knowing they were made in a Third World country?  Some people still will, but at least get them for the $19 retail that they are worth.

Clone/Counterfeit:  Not so common in the Rover community yet, but rampant in the automotive industry are fake copies of parts carrying original casting numbers and manufacturer emblems etc designed to look like originals- only they are generally poor quality and from third world countries.

Abuse of terminology is rampant and false advertising is becoming the norm, the lure being a quick buck.  Unfortunately, even some of the older and most trustworthy companies are giving in to the quick buck.

An example: Take a third world country manufactured brake rotor which wholesales in the $7 range and package it with a name brand pad that everyone recognizes as high quality, (we’ll call it Brand X for this example) and then call the WHOLE package a “Brand X Brake Kit” when in fact, it’s the cheapest possible rotors with name brand pads.  We’re also seeing this now with suspensions where off-brand springs are combined with famous-maker shocks and called a “famous maker kit.”  Sure, the shock company objects and takes action, but the money has already been made and it was a successful trick.

Word play and manipulation is another scam that is common.  Taking a bottom quality part and calling it “OEM Replacement Brake Pad” as a description.  Their interpretation is that the pad they are selling will replace your existing OEM pads, not that the pads they are selling are OEM. Also used are statements such as “OEM Quality” or “OEM Fit” which usually is not the case- if you want OEM, get OEM. If the vendor doesn’t say up front what brand the part is that you are buying, expect the worst.  Unfortunately, this means asking questions and assuming nothing when you talk to vendors. That DBA brake kit might not really be all DBA parts or that water pump might be from India instead of England. 

One used to be able to determine if a part was inadequate because of the “too good to be true” doctrine… when a part is too cheap, you usually knew you wouldn’t want it.  Times have changed and the purveyors of cheap off-brand parts have raised prices to the same as legitimate parts, making the consumer assume they are the same… they aren’t. They also use the original Land Rover part numbers for parts, making some people assume they are the same.

Backyard parts dealers are becoming a threat to consumers now, not just in Rover parts.  In many cases, people mislead manufacturers into giving them wholesale accounts when they have no store, and many times are not even a legitimate business at all. If a company has a web site and no location with business hours, be aware that you’re dealing with a backyard dealer.  Often just marking up products you can buy direct from legitimate distributors and operating off a cell phone part time, they can leave you hanging with no warranty and no long term support when they shut down… not to mention the frustration of not being able to get them on the phone during business hours while they are at their ‘real’ jobs. 

Quite honestly, it would be easier to make a living by taking advantage of word games, false advertising and huge margin low quality parts. In these days of disposable everything and internet price-based bargain shopping, it’s harder and harder to be either a vendor or a consumer.  Easier access to data is a great thing, but it is also now easier for unscrupulous people to take advantage of consumers by hiding behind a web site.